First Aid Courses

About Diving Medicals

PADI Open Water Diver Course

Learn to dive and get your PADI Open Water Diver Certification for life!

If you’ve always wanted to learn how to scuba dive, discover new adventures or simply see the amazing creatures beneath the waves, this course is for you.

With a PADI Open Water Diver Certification you will be qualified to dive with a buddy, independent of an instructor to 18 metres. You will be able to buy scuba equipment, book on trips, explore wrecks, reefs and underwater kelp forests in over 183 countries worldwide.

This qualification is for life and it will certainly change yours. Most people have diving on their bucket lists, so why not be one of the lucky few who experience the other 70% of this earth - the underwater!

The PADI Open Water Diver Course also qualifies you to continue your dive education with the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course and many other PADI Specialty Courses on offer.Next Course Starts:
No events found

Course Content

Knowledge Development

eLearning – 12 to 15 hours of independent online study prior to the course in our digital classroom. You will be presented with videos and slides to teach you all you need to know before moving on to the practical stuff.

Confined Water Dives (Pool)

Two days practising in our heated dive pool. You will practise and complete all the skills you will use in the ocean under the guidance of one of our experienced instructors. Learning is fun and you have heaps of time to perfect your skills.

Open Water Dives (Ocean)

Now for the real fun and excitement! 4 Open Water Dives over 2 days at one of our amazing training sites. Aramoana has shipwrecks and beautiful kelp forests and is an easy site for all abilities. Weller's Rock on the other side of the harbour is complete with sponges, fish life and the very rare New Zealand Hooker Sea Lions.

Schedule

Option 1 - Weekends

Option 2 - Weeknights

FridaySaturdaySundaySaturdaySunday

Welcome & Theory QuizConfined Water 1 and 2Confined Water 3, 4 and 5Open Water 1 and 2Open Water 3 and 4

MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdaySaturdaySunday

Welcome & Theory QuizConfined Water 1 and 2Confined Water 3 and 4Confined Water 5Open Water 1 and 2Open Water 3 and 4

Option 3 - Private

For private courses we can customise your schedule to suit. Call 0800 dive otago to organise this today

Weekdays are generally from 6:00pm - 9:00pm and weekend days 8:30am - 5:00pm.

Please note, this is only a guide and may slightly change due to weather or class size.

If your course is a STAR course, group course or private course your timetable may be different from the options above.

Equipment Requirements

As a minimum when you start your course, you will want your own mask, fins and snorkel, boots, gloves and a knife. While you can hire mask and fins, these items do have a very personal fit and you will be more comfortable in your own equipment. For the duration of the course, we provide all of the SCUBA equipment you need but you can of course choose to provide your own and it is much better to learn in equipment you intend to use as a diver.

Dive Otago has a wide range of scuba equipment for sale and your instructor can help choose the best gear for your diving needs. We will give you expert advice and help you make sensible, informed choices. We can put together tailored packages to suit your individual diving needs and budget.